BECOMING A FULL TIME BLOGGER/VLOGGER Q&A PART 1

She hates being on her belly! She rolls instantly haha These PJ bottoms are my absolute FAV! They are from Pink Blush and they have the cutest printed Pajamas, robes, and other clothing for maternity/non-maternity! Blowing her raspberries;)

Ever since creating this “How to become a blogger” series two years ago, I STILL receive emails/comments on blogging so I thought I would answer a few new questions on my blog today!

Hi friend! It took me a long time to gain an audience and with much trial and error, here are the main traffic sources in order: Youtube, Instagram, Pinterest, then Facebook. Youtube seriously spiked my blog following and shortly after that came Instagram! If you don’t necessarily want to start a full-blown Youtube channel, I’d still HIGHLY suggest putting out a video here and there that would have the potential to bring traffic to your blog. Although you may think there are a ton of people already on Youtube, you’d be so surprised how much of an audience can come from just simply posting a few videos each month. It would put you on the fast track to see an increase in views to your blog. With that being said, don’t put up videos like “Monthly Favorites” or “Makeup I’m Loving Right Now”, etc. Put up videos that are keyword focused that go along with your blog post topics such as “Loreal Infallible Review & Demo” or “Morning Routine Of A Mom”. These videos are more likely to get searched over random titles you throw in there. Do your research in Google Keyword Planner, create some videos throughout the month (even if it’s shot on your iPhone), and put them up to shout out your blog posts! In my opinion, it’s simply not enough in 2017 to launch a blog without supporting video content. You CAN do it, but it will just take foreverrrrr. It’s like your blog is a tiny fish in the giant sea of Google and it’s so so hard to be found unless you do countless hours of SEO research and truly optimize each blog post. Like I said, you can do it, but it’s 10x easier if you put up videos here and there to gain traction:) I do pin every post, try to shout them out on Instagram/Facebook, and I have dabbled in paid Google ads, but nothing comes close to view support from my channel.

Hi Chloe! Before I started my Youtube channel it took 2 years before I saw any return on investment. That’s mainly because I was in college and did blogging on the side and also because I had NO idea what SEO was or how to write a proper searchable blog post. Once I started doing Youtube videos here and there I saw a huge spike in views on my blog and I realized video is where the majority of people’s interest lie. Because of my channel I make more money on my blog posts than when I didn’t make videos and that’s because now brands can see actual views on my videos rather than needing access to my Analytics and since my social following on Instagram/FB/Pinterest isn’t huge, they are much more willing to work with me because of my channel. If I had to do it all over, I would have prioritized things a bit differently. In hindsite, I would have dedicated more time to growing my Instagram account over writing blog posts. Brands want numbers and as unfortunate as that is, it’s the truth. Influencers stand out to them based on how large their audience is, not how good their blog posts are. So focus on one social media platform and grow it! If I didn’t have Youtube to support me, I would spend 80% on perfecting my Instagram account and 20% perfecting my blog. That seems extreme, but it’s soooo necessary these days!

Hi Lilian! As of today, I receive 90% of my sponsorships because brands email me directly. I know that response may be discouraging because back in the day I would hear bloggers say that and feel so down on myself because I never got contacted! Trust me, with time and growing your social following it comes. It’s a ton of work and you have to think of it as a business before this will happen, but it will in time! Other ways smaller blogs/channels can receive sponsorships are by applying to brand campaigns via Famebit, Grapevine, Social Native, Collectively, Acorn Influencers, Sway Group, Reelio, Gen.Video, Social Links, Revfluence. ect. There are still a ton of opportunities out there! If you are a super new blog, then reach out to Etsy owners and tell them you will shoot high quality images for their social platforms and post on your blog in exchange for a product. That’s what I did in the beginning:)
Hi!:) The best way to get started is just to start! I know that sounds strange, but TODAY IS YOUR DAY TO START. I spent months mulling it over, thinking about it, and not taking action. So today, get a free WordPress site (it will look like hayleypaigeblogs.wordpress.com), don’t worry about hosting it just yet, write a few blog posts, understand the layout of WordPress, and start advertising to friends/family. Gaining an audience is by far the hardest thing to do. It’s not creating the blog, writing posts, or learning how to use a camera. Increasing traffic takes time so start asap!:) Besides all of that, I host through Hostgator and LOVE them (their customer service is the bomb.com), and purchased my domain through name.com!

That’s it for today! I definitely want to do a part 2 since I received so many questions next week!:

Hi Hayley! Thank you so much for this post. You are so right about just starting today. I absolutelly loved the SEO video you made with Doug, and it would amazing if you guys could also do a part 2 where you go more in depth, pleeeease!!! Thank you so much! Love your blog

This was an awesome post, thank you so much for writing it and sharing so much! There are so many growing bloggers who don’t really want to share how they did, but I love that you bring us along on your journey!! Love you girl! –Neha

Hey Hayley!
YOU are the bomb.com ! Haha. I just recently started following your material on YouTube in November, which led me to your blog (so yea I guess you’re right about the spike factor of the TUBE). I’m taking your advice and I’m not mulling it over anymore. You mention getting the free site. Now is it wordpress.org or word press.com ? Sorry if you answered this several times already in life! Have mercy oh wise one lol ! Thanks in advance! Your family and story is are simply beautiful girl!